In the same way Judas also collected all the books that had been lost on account of the war which had come upon us: Judas is Judas Maccabeus, and this may be made clear in translation. That had been lost might be rendered “that we had lost.” The war which had come upon us refers to the struggle with Antiochus~IV after he destroyed many Jewish books (see 1Macc 1.56-57).

And they are in our possession may be expressed as “and we now [or, still] have them.”

An alternative model for this verse is:

• Judas [Maccabeus] did this also. He collected the books that had been lost [or, we had lost] during the wars we had been fighting, and we now [or, still] have them.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.